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Background/Aim. Rectal cancer is a major health problem throughout the world, despite the great progress in the treatment and control of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mesorectal excision type on local recurrence in patients operated on for rectal cancer within a 3- year period. Methods. The clinical retrospective study was conducted at the Clinic for General Surgery at the Clinical Center in Niš, Serbia, and included 225 patients with rectal cancer. Postoperatively, the patients were observed 36 months. Total mesorectal excision (TME) method was used in 129 (57.33%) patients, and partial mesorectal excision (PME) in 96 (42.66%). There were 145 (64.44%) man and 80 (35.55%) women, average age 66.8 years. Results. In 58 (25.77%) of the patients cancer was localized in the proximal third of the rectum, in 99 (44%) in the medium third, in 68 (30.22%) it was 8 cm of the anocutaneous line. In 167 (74.22%) patients rectal cancer was in T3 stadium. TME was performed in all the patients with cancer in the distal third of the rectum and in 61.61% of the patients with cancer in the medium third of the rectum. PME was performed in all the patients with localized cancer in the proximal third and in 38.38% of the patients with cancer in the medium third of the rectum. Local recurrence occurred in 20 (8.88%) patients, 12 (9.30%) in the TME group and 8 (8.33%) in the PME group, which was not a statistically significant difference. In 75% of the cases, relapse occurred in the patients in T3 stage. Relapse occurred in 55% of the cases in the second year after the surgery. The median survival of all the patients amounted to 35 months. The total mortality of all respondents in a 3-year period amounted to 5.3%. Conclusion. There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of local recurrence and survival among patients who underwent TME and those underwent PME. The type of mesorectal excision does not affect the incidence of local recurrence in node-negative disease stages.

Background/Aim. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a key modality not only for lesion diagnosis, but also to evaluate the extension, type and grade of the tumor. Advanced MRI techniques provide physiologic information that complements the anatomic information available from conventional MRI. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps of intracranial glial tumors and histopathologic findings and whether ADCs can reliably distinguish lowgrade from high-grade gliomas. Methods. This retrospective study included 25 patients with MRI examination up to seven days before surgery, according to the standard protocol with the following sequences: T1WI, T2WI, FLAIR, DWI and post contrast T1WI. Data obtained from DW MRI were presented by measuring the value of ADC. The ADC map was determined by utilizing Diffusion-Perfusion (DP) Tools software. All the patients underwent surgical resection of the tumor. Histological diagnosis of tumors was determined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The ADC values were compared with the histopathologic findings according to the WHO criteria. Results. The ADC values of astrocytomas grades I (0.000614 ± 0.000032 mm2/s) were significantly higher (< 0.001) than the ADC values of anaplastic astrocytomas (0.000436 ± 0.000016 mm2/s) and the ADC values of glioblastomas multiforme (0.000070 ± 0.000008 mm2/s). The ADC values of astrocytomas grades II (0.000530 ± 0.000114 mm2/s) were significantly higher (< 0.001) than the ADC values of anaplastic astrocytomas (0.000436 ± 0.000016 mm2/s) and glioblastomas multiforme (0.000070 ± 0.000008 mm2/s). The ADC values of anaplastic astrocytomas (0.000436 ± 0.000016 mm2/s) were significantly higher (< 0.001) than the ADC values of glioblastomas multiforme (0.000070 ± 0.000008 mm2/s). The ADC values in the cystic part of the tumor for astrocytomas grades I (0.000775 ± 0.000023 mm2/s) were significantly higher (< 0.001) than the ADC values of anaplastic astrocytomas (0.000119 ± 0.000246 mm2/s) and glioblastomas multiforme (0.000076 ± 0.000004 mm2/s). The ADC values astrocytomas grades II (0.000511 ± 0.000421 mm2/s) were significantly higher (< 0.001) than the ADC values of glioblastomas multiforme (0.000076 ± 0.000004 mm2/s). Concluson. DWI with calculation of ADC maps can be regarded as a reliable useful diagnostic tool, which indirectly reflects the proliferation and malignancy of gliomas. The ADCs maps can both predict the results of histopathological tumor and distinguish between low- and high-grade gliomas, and provide significant information for presurgical planning, treatment and prognosis for patients with highgrade astrocytomas.